I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for prototyping parts from sheet metal.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In many industrial applications, it is necessary to prototype parts from sheet metal before production stamping dies are made. Such prototypes enable the manufacturer to ensure that the part, when finally manufactured on a production basis, will meet the design and assembly requirements of the production part.
There have been a number of previously known methods for constructing prototypes from sheet metal. One such method has been to bend the sheet metal along the desired bend line using a bending brake. The use of a bending brake, however, is suitable only for very simple parts. As the complexity and number of the bends increase for the part, a bending brake cannot be used since the shape of the part interferes with the operation of the bending brake.
Consequently, in order to construct prototypes from sheet metal for more complex shapes, it has been the previous practice to construct temporary stamping dies. Such temporary stamping dies, while less expensive than production dies, are nevertheless expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, the construction of temporary dies is a time consuming process thus increasing the overall time required to construct the prototype.
The present invention provides a method for prototyping parts from sheet metal which overcomes all of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the previously known methods.
In brief, in the method of the present invention, a plurality of longitudinally aligned spots are formed through the sheet metal between two edges of the sheet metal thus forming a bend line. Any number of bend lines can be formed through the sheet metal blank depending upon the complexity of the prototype.
Preferably, a laser is utilized to cut the longitudinally aligned slots through the sheet metal blank. Other methods, however, can alternatively be used to form the slots in the blank.
Preferably, the slots are approximately {fraction (1/32)} of an inch in width. Additionally, the length of each slot is between one and three times the spacing between adjacent slots so that approximately 50%-75% of the metal from the sheet metal blank is removed along each bend line.
In practice, it has been found that a sheet metal blank up to xc2xc of an inch thick having bend lines formed in accordance with the present invention may be easily bent by hand.